Monkeys Protect Air Base from Bird Strikes

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In the annals of war, animals have answered the call of duty more
than once.

There were the Mongolian horses that carried Genghis Khan and his
invaders into battle, the elephants that took Hannibal's troops
across the Alps and into Italy, and the dogs of war that have
served faithfully as attack dogs, scouts, trackers and sentries.

The air base has been beleaguered by flocks of birds, which can
get sucked into engines and cause aircraft to crash. (A bird
strike was blamed for the 2009 crash of a passenger plane into
the Hudson River near Manhattan, as well as countless other
airplane mishaps over the years.)

The monkeys have been trained by military personnel to climb
trees on the base and destroy the bird nests built there.
Numerous other strategies — such as scarecrows, firecrackers and
nets — have failed, as the roosting birds simply returned to the
trees days later.

The monkeys are earning their rations, according to the Chinese
military news site Blue Sky
News. Upon command, the primates scamper up trees and
dismantle the birds' nests. Thus far, the macaques have destroyed
more than 180 nests — and the birds have yet to return.